The Long Walk
In a dystopian 1970s America, fifty teenage boys take part in a deadly annual walking contest, forced to maintain a minimum pace or be executed, until only one survivor remains.
What critics thought
Critics largely responded to the performances from Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, and to cinematography that gives the death-march premise a bleak visual weight — but a meaningful minority found the world-building thin and the internal logic of both the premise and the ending unconvincing. The film lands somewhere between a gripping genre exercise and a frustrating exercise in deliberate vagueness, and where any given viewer falls depends heavily on tolerance for ambiguity.
“Stephen King has been adapted a lot, but this is the leanest, meanest adaptation of his work in a long time.”
Rebecca Onion·Slate
“well-rounded and fully formed”
Variety
“It is left to the viewer to fill in the gaps, suppress their niggling questions and just go along with it.”
Steve Rose·The Guardian
“How the contest is intended to restore what is described as the struggling American economy — let alone give viewers a sense of hope, as the overseer of the walk, identified only as the Major (a cartoonish Mark Hamill), declares — is a mystery.”
Michael O'Sullivan·The Washington Post
Genres
Science Fiction, Thriller, Horror
Cast & Crew
Francis LawrenceDirector
Cooper HoffmanRaymond Garraty #47
David JonssonPeter McVries #23
Garrett WareingBilly Stebbins #38
Ben WangHank Olson #46
Tut NyuotArthur Baker #6
Charlie PlummerGary Barkovitch #5
Jordan GonzalezRichard Harkness #49
Joshua OdjickCollie Parker #48
Mark HamillThe Major
Roman Griffin DavisCurly #7
Judy GreerMrs. Ginnie Garraty
Josh HamiltonMr. William Garraty
Jeremiah FraitesComposer
JT MollnerWriter
Stephen KingWriter
Jo WillemsCinematographyThe Long Walk
In a dystopian 1970s America, fifty teenage boys take part in a deadly annual walking contest, forced to maintain a minimum pace or be executed, until only one survivor remains.
What critics thought
Critics largely responded to the performances from Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, and to cinematography that gives the death-march premise a bleak visual weight — but a meaningful minority found the world-building thin and the internal logic of both the premise and the ending unconvincing. The film lands somewhere between a gripping genre exercise and a frustrating exercise in deliberate vagueness, and where any given viewer falls depends heavily on tolerance for ambiguity.
“Stephen King has been adapted a lot, but this is the leanest, meanest adaptation of his work in a long time.”
Rebecca Onion·Slate
“well-rounded and fully formed”
Variety
“It is left to the viewer to fill in the gaps, suppress their niggling questions and just go along with it.”
Steve Rose·The Guardian
“How the contest is intended to restore what is described as the struggling American economy — let alone give viewers a sense of hope, as the overseer of the walk, identified only as the Major (a cartoonish Mark Hamill), declares — is a mystery.”
Michael O'Sullivan·The Washington Post
Genres
Science Fiction, Thriller, Horror
Cast & Crew
Francis LawrenceDirectorCooper HoffmanRaymond Garraty #47David JonssonPeter McVries #23Garrett WareingBilly Stebbins #38Ben WangHank Olson #46Tut NyuotArthur Baker #6Charlie PlummerGary Barkovitch #5Jordan GonzalezRichard Harkness #49Joshua OdjickCollie Parker #48Mark HamillThe MajorRoman Griffin DavisCurly #7Judy GreerMrs. Ginnie GarratyJosh HamiltonMr. William GarratyJeremiah FraitesComposerJT MollnerWriterStephen KingWriterJo WillemsCinematography